Bessie Grooms Keenan (Alpha, DePauw University) began studying music as a young child and was an accomplished pianist by the time she entered DePauw. Near the end of her first year there, she strained the muscles of her left hand from over-practice and had to give up the ambition of her life. However, she gave much of her time to help build Alpha Chi Omega. Her daughter, Hannah Keenan, eventually became director of Alpha Chi’s central office, today known as headquarters.
Founder Bessie Grooms Keenan (Alpha, DePauw University) writes to Mabel Siller Nafis (Gamma, Northwestern University), author of the 1916 edition of The History of Alpha Chi Omega, about the founding of Alpha Chi Omega and details of her family.
Left: badge belonging to Founder Bessie Grooms Keenan; right: her Daughters of the American Revolution pin
DATE OF BIRTH: April 28, 1866DATE OF DEATH: November 4, 1920CEMETERYOak Grove CemeteryLeRoy, IL 61752Bessie Grooms Keenan (Alpha, DePauw University) shares a headstone with her husband, Luther Courtland Keenan. Her daughter's stone lay next to hers, Hannah Kennan (Alpha, DePauw University).